Second Opinions for Pediatric Heart Care
Reviewer note: example page for UWCR-16607, comparison shown as cards. The other build is here. Details at the bottom.
If your child has been diagnosed with a heart condition, or a treatment decision is coming up, a second opinion from a pediatric heart specialist can confirm the diagnosis, explain the options and give you confidence in what happens next.
The UCSF Pediatric Heart Center reviews second opinions for the full range of children's heart conditions, from the most common to the most complex. There are two ways to ask for one.
Talk with our heart team
Schedule a call with a patient navigator, or call 877-822-4453 to speak with someone now. The navigator learns about your child's condition, helps gather the records our specialists need and connects your family with the right UCSF pediatric heart expert. There is no charge to request a second opinion either way.
If your child is admitted to another hospital right now, call 877-822-4453 and say so rather than scheduling a call, so the team can reach a heart specialist for you sooner.
If this is an emergency
If your child may be having a medical emergency, call your local emergency service number (911 in the United States) or go to the nearest emergency room. Do not use the second opinion service if your child needs immediate treatment guidance.
What to have ready
You do not need any of this to get in touch. Having it on hand helps the navigator get your child's case to the right specialist faster.
- Your child's heart diagnosis, if they have one
- The name and phone number of the cardiologist or pediatrician caring for your child now
- Recent test results, such as an echocardiogram, cardiac MRI, CT scan or cardiac catheterization report
- The questions you most want answered
- Your insurance information
Written second opinion from a UCSF expert
If you would rather have a written review than a visit, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals partners with Summus to provide written second opinions. A Summus team helps collect the records relevant to your child's diagnosis, and a UCSF specialist reviews them and responds in writing. Once all the records are assembled, the written opinion usually takes about seven to 10 days.
A written second opinion costs $900 and is paid out of pocket. Written second opinions are not offered in every specialty and subspecialty area, so be as specific as you can about the expertise you are seeking when you speak with the Summus analyst handling your case.
Comparison: talking with our team vs. written opinion
Talk with our heart teamOpens in a new window
- Speak with a doctor: yes
- Cost to request: no charge
- Offered remotely: in some cases
- Care billed through insurance or paid out of pocket
- Run by UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals
Written opinionOpens in a new window
- Speak with a doctor: no
- Cost: $900 flat fee, paid out of pocket
- Offered remotely: yes, 100% remote
- Usually seven to 10 days once records are gathered
- Run by Summus with UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals
To talk with our heart team, call 877-822-4453. For questions about written opinions, call 917-565-8540 and select option 5.
Why families come to the UCSF Pediatric Heart Center
The UCSF Pediatric Heart Center cares for children of all ages, from newborns to teens, across the full range of cardiac conditions, including the most serious and complex. U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks the program among the nation's best for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery, and best in Northern California. It is the only center in the Western U.S. using 3D printing to plan complex cardiac procedures.
Learn more about the UCSF Pediatric Heart Center, including our services, special programs and outcomes.
Still deciding?
If you are not sure whether a second opinion is right for your child, our team can talk it through with you. There is no charge.
Second opinions for medical professionals
If you are a physician seeking a second opinion from a UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals heart specialist, please visit our Request a Consultation page.
About this page
Example page for UWCR-16607, not a live one. Copy drafted by Claude, not reviewed by a writer or a clinician.
Kelly's ticket supplied the patient routes and the referrer route. We took the Summus facts, the $900 fee, the seven to 10 day turnaround, the comparison chart and the emergency note from the live Second Opinion page. We quoted the ranking and 3D printing lines from the live Pediatric Heart Center page. The introduction, "Talk with our heart team" and "What to have ready" are new. That list follows what Boston Children's, CHOP and Children's Colorado ask families to gather, not a UCSF process document.
This page departs from the live Second Opinion page in two ways. The emergency note sits after the first path instead of at the bottom, so a parent whose child is admitted elsewhere reads it before they act. The comparison chart drops its "Facilitation" row.
For Kelly and the service line:
- Should the phone be the primary button? The ticket names the navigator as the primary way, so that is what we built. But the phone gets a family to a person faster, and right now it is the smaller, lighter button.
- Is the patient navigator scheduler the right destination? The ticket left a question mark after it.
- What response time can the team commit to? This page does not promise one. Boston Children's promises 48 business hours.
- When is 877-822-4453 answered? Every option on this page depends on someone picking up during business hours, and the page never says what those hours are.
- Every competitor answers these two questions and we don't: does asking for a second opinion delay my child's treatment, and do I have to tell my current cardiologist? The service line needs to answer both.
- Is this split right? Requesting a second opinion is free, but the care itself is billed to insurance or paid out of pocket.
Two builds of this page:
- comparison shown as a table
- comparison shown as cards (you are here)